Town lays case for increased spending, flat tax rate
Mayor Shawn Mesheau won’t say explicitly if he backs the plan proposed by Sackville town staff to keep the tax rate flat this year in Sackville.
Other municipalities with significant average property assessment spikes are considering lowering tax rates to help ease tax payments for their residents. Both Saint Andrews and Moncton have discussed reducing their rates, though even with rate reductions, both would still see increases in taxes paid by residents in the neighbourhood of 4-5%. That’s because Moncton and Saint Andrews are both looking at average increases over 10%. The rise in Sackville’s average assessment sits closer to the middle of the pack provincially, at 6.9%.
Treasurer Micheal Beal pointed out in a budget presentation on Monday, that although Sackville is looking at 6.9% increase in its tax base for 2022, the average increase over the past five years is 2.5% per year, due to a drop in values in 2018, and a slow growth year in 2021.
“It’s Council’s decision how they want to see this roll out,” said Mesheau in an interview for Tantramar Report on Tuesday. Mesheau said there were some things he feels the town should be tackling if they decide to keep a flat tax rate.
“One of the things is housing,” says Mesheau.… Continue